What's YOUR favourite "psychopathic" (heavy quotation here) character? Anton Chigurh? Lou Bloom? Annie Wilkes?

How Jake Gyllenhaal wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for this is crazy

I remember watching this film for the first time and being so uncomfortable every time Lou spoke. The way he spoke seemed so rehearsed, pre-planned or it just looked like he heard the sentences somewhere before and tried to use them to gain some advantage. The scenes when he "flirts" are also so cringe inducing, It makes me feel like I am on a date with him, in the same room and I don't know how to respond. I love this movie, but it makes me weirdly sick during some of the scenes.

A massive common misconception is that all psychopaths are killers. This isn't true. You can still be a psychopath and not want to kill people.

man i love this movie and ive never heard anyone put the feeling of the score into words before, it's like lou's own imagined heroic theme music and it really pushes the atmosphere

the shot at 18:29 with Lou staring down a gangster with a gun, who just killed his partner like its nothing and that gangster being slightly confused, but seeing Lou and immedieately recognizing he is no harm at all to him and will let him kill more people if he gets it on camera - its one of the most important bits of this movie to me. Its like one predator recognizing another and just letting each other pass on their way to their next prey. It truly shows how another murderer recognizes Lou as similiar to him and lets him be

Jake has such a huge range of acting talents. He can be a psychopath, a famed down to earth boxer, or an expert soldier and keep all of them so incredibly real.

People and even psychologists always rank Anton Chigurh as the “most accurate” psychopath, but as much as like like and respect Javier’s portrayal of that character I always thought that Jake’s Louis Bloom was by far the most accurate representation of a true psychopath. The one that lives amongst us and can even be our lovers. While his version might be one of the more extreme cases, not all psychopaths are mindless killing machines but often times very patient, deeply disturbed individuals who will go to whatever lengths in order to come out on top and get what they want. Louis is the psychopath who is our neighbor, our best friend, or our partner. I think that’s far more scary that someone you may trust may throw you in front of a train if it benefitted them.

Louis' attempt at seeming normal with the excuse of “I was watering my plants.” sort of reminds me of Bateman's “I have to go return some video tapes.”

The score of this film never stood out to me as "not fitting" for what's happening in the moment because I think I subconsciously understood the point being made. I never consciously thought about the music essentially being heroic because it's Lou's soundtrack until you pointed it out. I think that's a testament to the great filmmaking, so thanks for the analysis that brought this all to light for me.

As a psychologist I applaud you for your mention of the DSM-V and overall disclaimer, so nice to see someone do actual research and not regurgitate whatever TikTok says about mental disorders. Amazing video, nice editing too! instant sub.

I remember watching We Need to Talk About Kevin and being completely blown away by Ezra Miller's performance. Then, later, you come to realize that he's a complete psycho and wasn't acting at all.

Anthony star as homeland is one of the most amazing portrayals of psychopathy I have ever seen.

I still struggle to fit in with people, and some of his behaviour reminded me of my past actions. I often made people uncomfortable because I never looked away from their eyes when they were talking. It wasn't a subconscious habit, it was intended. By keeping eye contact, I thought they'd trust me more because it was supposed to be a sign of attention. Come to think of it, it was always about trying to win trust, not forming a proper bond.

Jake Gyllenhaal has an absolute knack for playing borderline, if not entirely psychopathic characters. It's believable, understandable, even sympathetic at times. He's too good of an actor.

The watering of the plant could also be a metaphor for what he's doing. Every night, he's filming to make his presence and position grow. Nightcrawler is an absolutely fantastic movie to analyze.

This is my favorite Jake Gyllenhaal role. The way he truely acts like he is observing and internalizing, and then swaps to a facade based on those internalizations when in a social setting. Incredible.

One thing that really stood out to me the first time I watched the movie is that the more graphic and disturbing Lou’s content gets, the more praise and recognition he gets from the media and from other slingers. As soon as his methods become ethically questionable, he is offered a job by Joe. When he brings Nina the final tape showing Ricks death, she’s in awe of it despite how gruesome it is. Obviously Lou himself is a cold, heartless sociopath, but the people around him are partly responsible for what he does by encouraging him to go further and further in his methods and making him think what he’s doing is admirable by showering him with praise and recognition

I watched this movie several times with different groups of friends and people had some really interesting reactions towards it. Some people were bored because they didn't click with Lou at all. They were confused by him and, because of that, didn't have much fun with the movie. Then there were people who admired him, who saw him as hard-working, focused, and a role model. And the third reaction I got were people saying how much of a psycho Lou is and how they would be appalled by his behavior from the first second on.

His name is a fitting metaphor of what deplorable character he actually is. A dark flower that blooms in a patch of land, not knowing it's a weed that siphoned all its nutrients all for itself killing other life near it.

I think the music was a stroke of genius personally. If you’re like Lou, then you might be inspired by it. If you’re like us, then you know something feels wrong and creepy.

As a diagnosed sociopath I really loved the movie and your analysis. The watering of the plant was a great touch to the main character. I used to go to group therapy sessions for people with aspd and there were many people with such weird obsessions that always sounded so stupid to me. But after a bit, I realized that thats what psychopaths do. They dont just wear a mask, they wear a whole damn suit. They become the character they want to come across, even when nobody is around, in order to keep their act straight.

People underestimate how much peek audio capture along with the lighting and visual crispiness of every scene enhances the quality of a movie experience. It makes watching a movie almost sensual and aesthetically pleasing to look at and listen to. And the film becomes extremely immersive.

Jake Gyllenhaal has had a long career of great performances but Lou Bloom might be his very best.

The psychopathic stare is usually more effective when the story alteady makes it unclear that the subject in question is unhinged. Even just hinting at instability can make the stare seem like waiting for a lion to pounce.

I absolutely love how you said the music is unfitting in many scenes because it matches what the character thinks is the correct way to feel. That is an insanely interesting perspective and one that I didn't even consider and its actually amazing bravo man.

The thing i really enjoyed was the subtle implication that the blood is also on the hands of the more 'normal' people including the viewer

The music did such a great job of mixing up my emotions. This guy is out here doing twisted, unhinged things, but the score kept making me think he was doing something amazing, something incredible. And he was, for himself. Only himself.

I'll never forget the day when a course director said some corporate jingoistic empty platitude, a friend and I on that course scoffed and joked about it after. Later that night we were watching Nightcrawler and Lou came out and said word for word that same empty sentiment. We both sat up in our chairs, wide eyed and horrified and locked on to one another, then laughed in desperation at how surreal it all was.

The Nightcrawler is deserving of an Oscar. The visuals and storytelling in this film makes it all the more worthy of watching consequently.

i watched nightcrawler several months ago and, while i certainly remember a lot of images from it, the thing that i kept thinking about weeks and weeks later was the little moment about the blood on his shirt and why they never showed it (i missed it in the earlier shot) despite mentioning it a few times. the only reason i could think of was that it was just an editing decision to prefer the actors' faces, but this makes it a lot more interesting

Such a great example of psychopathy. It isn't looking for people to kill. It's a person that rarely changes emotion or expression irrespective of the activity they are engaged in. Goal-oriented. Imitates people but something a little off. Definition of psychopathy: hurting people for short-term gain. Great video and great movie.

This movie has purchased prime real estate in my brain and lives comfortably.

Finally someone did a thorough analysis of this type of character. There aren’t many videos so detailed.

The monthly spikima analysis is as always a pleasure

Watching this movie in theaters was an EXPERIENCE and I'll sing its praises until I die. The music was brilliantly done, that tonal dissonance with the situation but harmony with his attitude just made a fantastic bit of irony.

Caught this on DVD and found Lou Bloom a very, very scary dude. And Gyllenhaal was so good in the role. And didn't even get a nomination for Best Actor. Then again, Anthony Perkins got no real recognition for his chilling portrayal of Norman Bates.

I especially liked what you pointed out about the music score. It very much is meant to highlight Lou's perspective and feelings, not to evoke the feeling of the scene to the audience. It was brilliant and I find it funny that some film critics, who should know a thing or two, didn't pick up on that in a first viewing. The entire film plays out in the format of like a heroic origin story, where the only person who views Lou as heroic, is himself. The score exemplifies that the protagonist of the story is a narcissist and that the story is about his character, not the content of what is happening in the scene. When he is delivering an uncomfortable monologue that would make anyone cringe- the score plays hopeful music- because the film is about Lou. If it played music appropriate to the content, to build suspense in those cringe inducing scenes, the entire contrivance of the film would be betrayed and if they took that cookie cutter approach with the score, they would have also taken that approach with the film in general and it wouldn't be anything more remarkable than an annual bargain barrel thriller- Something the script could have easily become in less capable hands.

One of the best performances and films of this generation. I love your channel and appreciate your work!

The point about the score underlying the main character’s internal emotion rather than the setting is masterpiece in direction. A great observation, which understandably was missed by audiences in the early days of this film coming out like you mention. Brilliant!

So glad to have you back. Thank you for your work.

I fucking love this channel. Love it. The calm narration is like ASMR, the topics are eloquently dissected, and the community is equally engaging. I fucking love this channel.

Great commentary. I think Nightcrawler is a brilliant film and possibly Jake Gyllenhaal's most fascinating performance. It's a crime that this film isn't more recognized. Thank you for sharing your take on this incredible character study...

That was insanely well made good job. I enjoyed every minute of that thoroughly

As a huge fan of this film and most Psychopath documentaries; you knocked it out of the park with this synopsis. This kind of detail are the bread and butter of my UKposts itch that you undoubtedly scratched. 10/10

Stumbled onto your video of this movie, stopped at the notice of spoilers, watched the film just to come back to your video. I regret nothing. Amazing film. Great video on the main character. Keep up the great work!

Thank you for the video! Nightcrawler is easily one of my favourite films of all time. I saw the movie in a similar light you did, and hearing your analysis helped to crystallize my understanding and increase my appreciation of the film. I have a small note on your video. In this day and age people often listen to videos as podcasts, and when you show large pieces of script, just read them aloud 😅 it was an awkward pause and I had to read that part after getting out of the shower.

Fantastic breakdown and analysis. Thank you for reminding me it's about time to rewatch this movie as well.

I love seeing a character analysis video once in a while. It’s always crazy how much you can get with little evidence

Wonderful video! Made me rewatch the film, after almost 10 years, which is something i've been wanting to do for quite a while now. I didn't got the music matching Lou's point of view by myself, thank you for enlightening me about that point! Made me like the movie even more

I've been waiting for you to talk about Nightcrawler for a while! Amazing video as usual!

hands down favorite movie of all time. saw it in theaters and Ive seen it hundreds of times since. This video was a great addition to the movie. Thank you for this. 🙏🏽

Chigurh maybe recognized as the most accurate depiction of a psychopath but Jake's Lou Bloom is a worthy contender for me.

Absolutely brilliant analysis mate!

This was well done. It made me want to watch this film during my Xmas break. You respect the process that creates how Bloom is unnerving and for that I am glad.

Thanks for making this video about one of my favorite films! A highly underrated one that appears to finally be getting it's flowers.

This film is so good. Im sure making this essay was a pleasure for you to make as your script likely kept changing as you kept noticing more and more on each watch through of a scene. It's as close to perfect as it gets for what it's trying to accomplish. Gilroy and Gyllenhaal need to team up again. Gilroy is clearly a good study. Amazing script, pitch perfect directing. This film feels like equal parts Fincher, Mann, Hitchcock and Scorcese.

Lou is one of the most interesting characters and I absolutely loved this breakdown. I remember watching this for the first time and being bothered by the score, but not being able to pinpoint why I felt unnerved. You broke down everything so perfectly, its always a good day when there's a new spikima video to watch

An analysis so thorough you’ve unintentionally rekindled my love for the movie

Thank you for highlighting the intention of the score. IMHO, the best scores are driven by a central idea or from the perspective of the character rather than trying to underline or “show” the drama we are seeing. It is especially well suited for independent films as opposed to Hollywood style films.

Shit I never likened his overdramatic speech patterns to those of the news anchors he sees on TV. Great work as always!

I never was interested in watching Nightcrawler, but after this video I might. I love hearing you break down things and you have an amazing way with words!

Favorite movie of all time. Im so glad you did a video on this.! You are the best.

I remember in 2014 coming out of the “Book of Life” with my family and literally none of us enjoyed it to the point we hopped into another theater. Which so happened to be Nightcrawler. Soon as i left the theater that day was the first time i realized that i wanted to be a filmmaker. Almost 10 years later and this is still one of my favorite films of all time, thank you for reminding me how much I adore this movie. Great video

hey bud, can i just say, i'm proud of of you. you did an amazing job making this video. i see your effort and hard work. i appreciate it as a viewer so so much. i hope you are proud of yourself, and are confident in your accomplishment, because a random stranger on the internet is also. i really am. i want to compliment your knowledge and insight. i want to compliment your structure of editing and viewer awareness. as someone who is interested in film but not knowledgeable about the technical stuff, you explained and showed it masterfully.

The thing he says about the backdrop looking so real could also reflect exactly what he wants to be from the perspective of others around him.. He wants his fake persona's to appear so real that nobody can tell the difference or suspect otherwise.

This video is masterfully put together. I admire your skill. Great job!

Hey Spiki, I rushed to your post as usual and it was so good that I doubled my Patreon. Not much, but so happy to be somehow involved... What you said about the music sums up an essential point in movie making (well, quite about any form of art actually): the point of view is essential, and if you do not get it, you might as well watching paint dry. Thank you my friend!

Gyllenhaals smile is top tier heebie jeebies and the score for this movie was perfect. 80's synth with an er of vaporwave aesthetic is icing on the psychocake that is Lou. While I'm here, please always pronounce envelop like envelope, it's great

I am so incredibly inspired and blown away by your content - just thank you. Since starting my Horror channel 3 years ago it was a big dream of mine to produce Essays on horror movies one day (having been a Journalist and UKpostsr for pver 10 years). But I wanted to build a following first as it is really really hard as there are basically no German Essay channels and the quality of YT videos here is rather unacademic. Your channels amongst others like Kaptain Kristian keep me pushing through and I know I will get there one day and change the way the UKposts movie discourse is here.

I loved Nightcrawler and I loved this video. Amazing job; you really made me realize how much I didn't already appreciate about the movie. This video earned my subscription. Keep it up!

Great video. Ill never forget seeing this in theaters instantly became one of my favorite films.

underrated actor

You did an amazing job with this video. It’s sad that I couldn’t find anymore in your playlist like this one, I’ll have to go somewhere else to see if they have the same content.

Great essay dude-love the editing. very interesting

I watched Saltburn in theaters this week and I recalled not being as disturbed by a character since this movie Nightcrawler.

He is literally me except i have no job and not a sociopath

This Is an excellent video. I am going to rewatch this movie tonight. Thanks for this very detailed description of the characters and plot.

Hey! This is a great video! UKposts’s algorithm actually did a good thing for me today when it suggested this. Subscribed!

I think one of the most unsettling things about this movie is how it reflects exactly how society feels about things we rationally understand should be disgusting and abhorrent - but we watch enraptured. There could be many people out there exactly like Gyllenhaal, but we’d be none the wiser because he is the director and we are the audience that eats it up - give us the next disaster, give us the next thing that makes us clutch our pearls.

I watched Nightcrawler once and still feel disgusted to this day. It's an amazing film that represents everything about the media I hate. From sensationalising crimes to the "self-made CEOs" and motivational speakers. It just unnerved me so much.

This movie is one of the most unsettling things I have ever watched, great breakdown of the different elements!

Bro, don’t ever give up on life. You are surrounded by people who love and support you and you shouldn’t ever hesitate to ask for help. No matter how bad life may seem, it will get better. Trust❤️

I watched this after "Donnie Darko"...Gyllenhaal can play "the weirdo" so well 👍

Lou Bloom, Anton Chigurh and Lalo Salamanca are all excellent accurate portrayals of what a Psychopath may be like in my opinion

Love that analysis on the framing of the Check with the blood on the shirt brother! Keep it up and God Bless Dude!

Just discovered your channel. I'm not even done watching the video and I'm like "this guy is doing such a greay job" *subbed*

The only things that bother me in this movie is that psycopathy is again described (like.. quite often in movies) as being '"odd, off, weird, or frigtening" when in reality, someone who got a high "psychopathy profile" tend to be really likable and quite charming. And this is, in my opinion, the most chilling part about it, because you actually cannot distungue a psycopath at the first sigh... I would recommand you the work of Dr. Octavio Choi who describe quite well the behaviour and brains issues in Neuroscience when it comes to psycopathy profile.

Fuck yes! So stoked to see you talk about this movie.

how is this video is 26k views only? This video is just amazing, keep it up man!

Love your channel, keep up the good work👍

If they ever make a show about Brian Kohberger, Jake Gyllenhal HAS to play him!

Perhaps a better way to look at Psychopathy is not the Personality Disorders, such as ASPD. More insightful would be the Forensic way, looking at the Dark Triad of Psychopathy, Narcissism and Machiavellianism, or additionally the Tetrad, with Sadism. This is more fruitful, from a Forensic Psychologist's point of view. Good analysis.

Amazing analysis brother! Top notch 🫡🖤

Insane performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, his eyes/look and those starring were balanced between chilling and scary, intense and deep movie! Thanks for your work :)

Good video, thank you. The word TARGETING is missing as R there; you might want to do something about it, if something useful is still possible.

Great analysis, you made me want to rewatch the film with those observations in mind.

Nightcrawler didn't hit me, but your discussion does make me appreciate certain aspects about the construction. Thanks again for another good exegesis.

I wouldn't call Lou a Psychopath. He's more likely to be someone who suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder. I'm not even sure I would say he "suffers" from it because it clearly works out well for him. I just started watching your video, so I may be jumping the gun by commenting this now, but I had a different take on Lou's interest in his plant. One of my favorite scenes in this film is when Rick doesn't want to get out of the car to film what Lou set up to be a shoot-out. Lou looks to him and says. "What if my problem wasn't that I don't understand people but that I don't like them? What if I was the kind of person who was obliged to hurt you for this? I mean physically. I think you'd have to believe afterward, if you could, that agreeing to participate and then backing out at the critical moment was a mistake. Because that's what I'm telling you, as clearly as I can." In that moment, Lou is saying two things. He is responding to Rick's earlier statement on how he believes Lou just doesn't understand people and telling him that isn't the case. He is also telling him how important what he wants is to him and how little of importance Rick is, and the repercussions of what could happen if he got in between Lou and what he wanted. As Lou said. He does understand people. He just doesn't like them. I do not believe Lou is suffering from Autsim or anything like that. He seems to understand people just fine. He just doesn't care to be one. I don't think he is mimicking "normal" human behavior by following a routine with his plant. I honestly believe he just cares about taking care of his plant. Lou isn't emotionless. You can tell by seeing how angry and happy he can be at different parts of his story. You can even see him be disappointed and lustful. Lou is someone who doesn't find enjoyment out of most things in life. So he goes after the things he does want. Things like money, power, and even danger. I think Lou waters his plant because he likes his plant. I think if you asked him, he'd probably tell you that he likes his plants more than just about any human being he comes into contact with. When Lou is alone, he is himself free from any social confines the world imposes on him. Just him and his own company with a living thing, he doesn't have to impress or talk to. Lou comes across as someone who based their entire professional persona on some New Hire training tape they would make you watch after getting a position in sales. I would know. I have been in sales. You wouldn't believe the shit they make you watch. They'll give you 100 different videos on how to convince a customer that you aren't fucking them over. All spoken in an upbeat positive cadence. To me that's all Lou is. He's a salesman. A very good one at that. One with no moral qualms against what he has to do to get to where he wants to get. No matter how badly the outcome could be for those, he steps on to get to where he wants to go. Lou doesn't seem like someone who's trying to mimic normal human behavior because he wants to appear normal to fit in. To me, he seems like someone who just honestly doesn't like or relate to most people. He's someone without any empathy to spare. That doesn't necessarily mean his psychotic, evil, or even heartless in any way. I think if you would ask Lou about the difference between good and evil, he would tell you that they were entirely made up concepts that hold people back from becoming their best self. Lou is no Ted Bundy. He's no killer either. Well, not directly anyway. That doesn't mean he doesn't have the capacity to be one, but I don't think he'd find any pleasure in it, or any pain / distress either. Lou doesn't fit in with the mold. Lou says he understands people but doesn't like people. That doesn't mean he hates them either. I just think he is entirely indifferent to anyone who doesn't share in his vision of bettering himself and actively dislikes anyone who could stand in his way. He's not heartless, evil, or psychotic. He may not even lack emapthy. The only difference is that he just doesn't care. He doesn't empathize with strangers or even close colleagues. He sees everyone else as an obstacle to get in his way or a rung to help him climb higher. His main goal isn't just to make money. It's to make money doing something that excites and maybe even frightens him. Lou is the main character in his own story, and everyone else is just an NPC. He lives his life, only worrying about what he wants and how to get their. What makes him dangerous is that he is bored. Well that and he wants to be the best at what he does. I think Lou is a perfectionist well. Spoiler below, but he doesn't let Rick die because he wants to see him dead or because he gets off on watching that kind of thing, and who knows, maybe he does, but that's all incidental. He lets Rick die because in the moment, he realizes it would be beneficial for him in the long run for him to let it happen. Lou only looks at the big picture and only cares about what benefits him. He may appear cruel, but he isn't doing things to be cruel. He is just following his nature, and he doesn't even have to wear a mask. Let alone believes he has to. I don't think Lou is trying to fit in so he can hide amongst the crowd. He only ever does it to get what he wants in the moment and then reverts back to his selfish self. He's also under no illusions about what or who he is.

EPIC